A Million Minutes in Africa

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We visited a gold mine in Ghana. Ha, ha, no, we didn’t get free samples.  However, the place was impressively modern and full of fancy equipment, at least compared to the mine we visited in Bolivia.

Before entering the mine, we put on jumpsuits and hardhats. We also got headlamps with heavy battery packs that strapped to our belts.

We took a long elevator down 24 levels. Each level is about 100 feet down.  You do the math. This is one of the tunnels we walked.  This one has a track for the metro… but, seriously, mostly you walk through puddles and muck.

Have you ever seen someone with such a difficult job seem so serene?

Most of the men allowed us to take photos as they worked.  Ah, yes, just a couple of tourists passing through, guys.  Have a nice day.

These guys actually look happy to be here, despite the incredible heat and air full of particles and not a whole lot of oxygen, or nitrogen, or whatever makes that fresh air such a pleasure to breathe.

The people who run the mine are safety conscious. Other people find skulls and bolts of electricity to be hysterical.

On the way back to the surface, we shared the elevator with 20 or more miners.  OK, so here is a test.  One of these men is not a miner.  Would you have noticed if we didn’t tell you?

Dan the Safety Man is pleased to be breathing fresh air again. My shirt is completely soaked not from a gentle afternoon downpour.  No, that is all sweat.  We walked for three hours through the stale, diesel exhaust-tinged air punctuated by the ear-piercing noise of digging machines.  Desk job look good now. 

On Sunday mornings we take long walks with our friend Simon. Well, we did until 2 weeks ago, when Simon left Ghana for the U S of A. For our last walk, we went to Legon, home of ... [Continue reading this entry]

What does one do on Saturday morning in Accra? Why, replace one's dead hard drive, of course. (There ain't no Apple Stores in this part of the world.)

Dismantling the iBook was quite ... [Continue reading this entry]

A couple of days beforehand, we heard that a major bicycle race (115 km or 72 miles) would take place on July 1. We decided to check it out. It was supposed to begin at 9, but being on GMT ... [Continue reading this entry]

No, I don't mean the 40th birthday of Dan or Giselle, but of Matt, a fellow American in Accra. Being a rather energetic fellow, he organized a 40-mile walk/run in Akosombo, Volta Region, to celebrate his 40th. Some invitees balked ... [Continue reading this entry]

How to carry a bottle and keep your hands free: Fort San Antonio, Axim, Western Region:  While visiting the Western Region, we stayed at Lou Moon Lodge. Nice place. This was ... [Continue reading this entry]

Sorry for the long absence from blogging.  Alas, our computer hard drive died, thus ending our home access to the internet.  We are working on the problem, but in the meantime, here are some events that have occurred since our last ... [Continue reading this entry]

What does Accra have in common with Milan, Italy? They are both places where the world-famous Teatro alla Scala Orchestra and Chorus performs. La Scala, led by distinguished conductor Daniel Barenboim, performed Beethoven's 9th ... [Continue reading this entry]

On March 6, Ghana celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence, dubbed the "Golden Jubilee" and nicknamed Ghana@50. It was a huge event, and the government went all-out. Some say they went a bit too far, even purchasing fleets ... [Continue reading this entry]